Overheard
by Lemon Green
Summary: Ryan hears something he wishes he hadn't. EC undertones.


To say that this is a quality piece of literature would be a lie, so please feel free to laugh with me or at me. :D.

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"_So what are you going to do?" Natalia asked with a small laugh._

_There was a long pause between speakers before Ryan heard Calleigh's soft drawl, "I think I need one that vibrates more noticeably…stronger, I guess. Even when I'm holding it in my hand, I barely feel it." _

"_Well, you do use it a lot."_

"_It should still work. Besides, it's frustrating."_

"_You checked the battery?"_

"_Replaced the battery and everything. I asked Eric to take a look at it, but there isn't much he can do."_

Of all of the conversations Ryan ever wanted to hear, that certainly wasn't high on his list. In fact, if he had his way, it wouldn't even be on the list. But he had overheard the conversation between the two female CSIs, and now he wished he'd gone deaf in the time it had taken to pass the DNA lab.

Now, he found himself working with Calleigh, and he had to attempt to be professional. That proved difficult when he blushed profusely every time he looked at her, every time he thought about the conversation. He even blushed when he turned his head too quickly.

So, he kept his eyes carefully trained on the material before him, concentrating profusely on a task he could probably complete in his sleep.

"You okay, Ryan?" Calleigh asked, genuinely concerned.

Ryan, however, could still not look up. Instead, he nodded slightly, all of his focus on the computer program before him. Beside him, Calleigh shifted her weight as she studied the screen. "Oh wow," she murmured as the credit card spending report popped up on screen. "Someone really likes kinky sex toys…" Calleigh said slowly, continuing to scan the report. Ryan sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

"Think we've got a dominatrix, maybe?" Ryan asked finally, swallowing the large lump in his throat.

Calleigh frowned. "I don't know. A lot of the stuff we found in her apartment seemed very personal. Then again, I guess you never know."

No joke. His face flushed as he pushed awkward thoughts of his colleague from his head. "Regardless, none of her colleagues knew anything about it." And Ryan certainly wished he was among them…

"Well, she taught preschool during the day, but I guess it could have been her secret life. I suppose she wouldn't want to advertise her _recreational_ activities at work, huh?"

Ryan closed his eyes. She knew. She knew he'd overheard the conversation, and this was his punishment…"I'm uh-I'm gonna go touch base with Delko," he murmured, not even giving her a chance to respond before he was out of the room. Ryan walked quickly to fingerprints, annoyed that he was so affected by this.

He turned sharply into the fingerprints lab, nearly colliding with Eric. Taking a moment to compose himself and look around, Ryan slowly began to wish he hadn't come here.

"Oh geez," he moaned, his eyes settling on an object he could only _guess_ the purpose of. Eric had a variety of the woman's 'toys' spread out on the counter so he could lift and compare fingerprints.

Eric quirked an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.

"Nothing," Ryan muttered, wishing more than anything he could back out of the room without Eric noticing.

"Okay…well, cursory glance says this one," Eric pointed to one of the objects on the table, the one Ryan had seen upon coming in, "was probably one of her favorites. Unfortunately, that doesn't tell us who killed her…just a little insight."

"Uh-huh."

"If she had to go to all these, I'm going to guess there was no one…special…in her life." Eric continued thoughtfully. "Or she wasn't getting her needs met."

Ryan squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Oh, Lord, he hadn't thought of that. He sighed, turning to the other CSI. "How are…things with Calleigh?" he asked tentatively.

Eric frowned. "Fine," was the suspicious reply Ryan received.

"Still good…sexually?" he asked carefully.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"You wouldn't want Calleigh to go elsewhere." He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this. Too bad he'd already dug his own grave.

"What are you talking about, Wolfe?" Eric asked, his annoyance becoming more evident with each word.

"Well…women who don't get there _needs_ met one way, they find other—"

"—I don't know where you're getting your information, but she's not cheating on me," Eric told him in a mixture of bafflement and frustration.

"Who isn't cheating on you?" the soft spoken southern drawl cut into their conversation. Ryan blushed profusely. Of course Calleigh would walk in on this. That was just his luck; it was always his luck.

Eric laughed. "Wolfe thinks you've got a man on the side," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Not a man…" Ryan murmured, unsure why he was still talking.

Calleigh frowned, still slightly amused. Eric, however, had lost his patience. "You wanna just come out and say whatever's on your mind?"

No…not really. Ryan's eyes traveled slowly from Calleigh to Eric and then back to Calleigh. If only he could have forced himself to drop it, he wouldn't be in this situation right now. "Never mind." He muttered.

"No, not never mind. Spit it out," Eric told him. "What are you going on about?"

"I…I overheard a conversation," he admitted, feeling for all the world like a six-year-old in trouble.

Calleigh's frown deepened; she was clearly confused. "What conversation?" she asked, her tone only slightly more welcoming than Eric's.

Unable to meet either of their eyes, Ryan quietly explained the conversation he'd overheard earlier. Finishing his explanation, his eyes searched for a place to focus. However, he wouldn't look at Calleigh or Eric, and he certainly didn't want to look at the toy collection. Instead, he forced himself to look out the door, concentrate on the back of Frank's head.

After what could quite possibly have been the longest moment of Ryan's life, Calleigh laughed genuinely. "Ryan," she said, her tone commanding him to make eye contact with her. "We were talking about my cell phone."

Her words pummeled him like an African elephant, and he would have been quite content to melt into the floor…even if she'd gotten offended and shot him, that would be fine. "Uh..." Ryan muttered, completely unable to find a fitting excuse. "Sorry."

Calleigh shook her head, smiling.

"Wow…" Eric laughed. "That was…special. Ringer hasn't worked for a while, and now the vibrate function is going too." He smiled mischievously. "Just so you know, though, we're definitely not in danger of needing to go elsewhere."

This time, Calleigh blushed slightly, flashing Eric a warning look.

Ryan sighed. It's entirely possible he would never live this down.


End file.
